Algeria commissions mine countermeasures vessel

The Chief of Staff of the Algerian military, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, has commissioned into service the Algerian Navy’s new mine countermeasures vessel El-Kasseh 1.

The commissioning took place on 30 September and involved an inspection of the new vessel, according to the Ministry of National Defence.

The vessel was delivered with a Gaymarine Pluto Plus remotely operated mine-disposal vehicle and a Klein Marine Systems towed side scan sonar

El-Kasseh 1 (501) was launched on 5 April 2016 by Italy’s Intermarine shipyard. Algeria’s order for the vessel emerged in late 2014 when it was confirmed that it had signed a contract for a single vessel, plus an option for a second. Intermarine was originally reported to be in negotiations with Algeria regarding the vessel in 2013 and at Euronaval 2014 Intermarine announced it had started working on a mine countermeasures vessel for an unspecified customer, which turned out to be Algeria.

Orizzonte Sistemi Navali acted as prime contractor, while Intermarine carried out most of the work as a subcontractor.

According to IHS Jane’s, the vessels is based on the Katanpaa class vessels built for the Finnish Navy. It is believed to have a hull based on a monocoque single skin glass reinforced plastic design and is around 50 metres in length. Based on Katanpaa specifications, the vessels has a displacement of nearly 700 tons, a speed of 13 knots and accommodation for more than 30 people.